David Luiz broke their hearts after another catastrophic refereeing decision to
allow basel score a late goal. That
was until David Luiz stepped up and set the
record straight with the last kick of the game to
give the Blues a deserved 2-1 victory.
What we know for sure is that to progress to the
final in Amsterdam on 15 May Basel would have to win tonight by a scoreline greater than 1-0. The Swiss champions have bullishly said they have 'nothing to lose' but their impressive recent scalps in UEFA competitions were founded on fine home form. They have never won an away game in Europe after the winter
break. KEY STATS: **Chelsea are hoping to qualify for our 12th final over the 10 years of the Roman Abramovich era, and our fifth European final overall. ** On Sunday Frank Lampard equalled Andy Cole's record of scoring against 38 different Premier League clubs for Chelsea and WestHam.
He is now just one goal behind all-time top scorer Bobby Tambling , who hit 202. **Nine players from Chelsea and Basel's squads will be suspended for the final if they are booked tonight (four from Chelsea and five from Basel). The winners tonight will play Fenerbahçe or Benfica at the Amsterdam Arena on Wednesday 15 May. Chelsea have beaten both the other semi-finalists in our only encounters to date. >>>Tonight's semi-final
Europa League ties
Chelsea v Basel 8.05pm
(agg 2-1)
Benfica v Fenerbahçe
8.05pm (agg 0-1)